59B*
A Call to Worship
Pentecost 19B [Ordinary 27B] or [Proper 22B] 2015
Psalm 26

God of unfailing love, you know us for whom we and what we are - yet you love us.
Teach us to always to be aware of your love for us, and willingly respond to that love.

God of all truth, you know us for whom we and what we are – guide us to your truth.
Teach us to always trust and rely on God’s own truth, and to respond to that truth.

God of living wonders, you know us for whom we and what we are – yet God blesses us
by making our past into our own personal relationship with God – and so to worship God.
Teach us to always to remember our journey of faith with and in God; to accept God’s
guidance as we journey; responding each day in trust to God’s love, truth and guidance. Amen.

---

Psalm 26
A psalm of David.

1 Declare me innocent, O LORD,
for I have acted with integrity;
I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.
2 Put me on trial, LORD, and cross-examine me.
Test my motives and my heart.
3 For I am always aware of your unfailing love,
and I have lived according to your truth.

4 I do not spend time with liars or go along with hypocrites.
5 I hate the gatherings of those who do evil,
and I refuse to join in with the wicked.

6 I wash my hands to declare my innocence.
I come to your altar, O LORD,
7 singing a song of thanksgiving and telling of all your wonders.
8 I love your sanctuary, LORD,
the place where your glorious presence dwells.

9 Don’t let me suffer the fate of sinners.
Don’t condemn me along with murderers.
10 Their hands are dirty with evil schemes,
and they constantly take bribes.

11 But I am not like that; I live with integrity.
So redeem me and show me mercy.
12 Now I stand on solid ground, and I will publicly praise the LORD.

---

Prayers of Trust and Petition
Pentecost 19B [Ordinary 27B] or [Proper 22B] 2015
Psalm 26

God of unfailing love, you know us for whom we and what we are - yet you love and
encourage us especially in our daily living and in our relationships. As we gather in
the sacred sanctuary; and in our acts of worship and praise, we ask that you test us
and teach us to always to be aware of your love for us, and willingly respond to that
love. Loving God, may we always be aware of your unfailing love that created this world
in love; and peopled it so that they could experience the holiest of all loves. Teach us
to love – in as holy a way as is within us to share – and may our love for God be a living
reality, consciously growing every day as we journey towards being at home with God.

God of all truth, you know us for whom we and what we are – guide us to your truth.
Teach us to always trust and rely on God’s own truth, and to respond to that one truth—
as we are surrounded by people and experiences of many kinds of “truth”, but which
often is anything but God’s holy truth. Help us to live like the psalmist who through his
awareness of God presence and truth, was able to live with integrity and honesty before
people – but also before his God. He prayed: “...redeem me and show me mercy. Now
I stand on solid ground, and I will publicly praise the LORD.” Help each of us to stand on
the solid ground of God’s truth and love, so that we too can praise and thank the Lord.

God of living wonders, you know us for whom we and what we are – yet God blesses us
by making our past into our own personal relationship with God, enabling us to worship
the God of all love and truth, and who blesses us with personalising our relationship with
our Saving and Liberating God. Teach us to always to remember our journey of faith with
and in God; and to accept God’s guidance as we journey; responding each day in trust
to God’s love, truth and guidance. May we each boldly proclaim our faith and trust in the
God who guides and blesses us; and who yearns to be in a deeply personal relationship
with us. May each of us be aware of your God’s unfailing love, and live boldly in that love. Amen.

---

A Personal Meditation
Pentecost 19B [Ordinary 27B] or [Proper 22B] 2015
Psalm 26

In this psalm, the psalmist comes across as being rather “big-headed” and very
pleased with himself, yet on closer examination, the very boldness of the petitioner
is a sign of hope and confidence in his God, whose faithfulness has enabled his
own confidence to be expressed. It was God who encountered and inspired the author,
and he speaks only thusly, because of God’s faithfulness through the covenant
relationship which God maintained with those faithful people. The petitioner’s claim
to integrity is only valid because God’s integrity and grace is beyond any question
or doubt. The author cannot claim any value of righteousness on his own behalf—
he can only claim what he has been given to him by his faithful and generous God.



“…I am always aware of your unfailing love, and I have lived according to your truth…”
The psalmist seems to have his priorities right as he celebrates the eternal faithfulness
of God which enabled him to not only “know” but to always be “aware” of God unfailing
love! We can gather many kinds of “knowledge” as we mature in life and faith; but a
constant “awareness” is a very different thing, as there is a discernment in being “aware”—
it is something that a person has thought through and worked at – to make it their own.
The author’s awareness of God’s “unfailing love” is a decisive factor in all his behavior,
motivation and commitment – something we can all make our own if we have spiritual
loyalty and commitment to our Redeeming and Liberating God and claim this as “truth”.



“…I wash my hands to declare my innocence. I come to your altar, O LORD, singing a
song of thanksgiving and telling of all your wonders…” The psalmist prepared himself
for worship in the traditional way of hand washing – thereby removing all that lingered
or soiled his hands from his previous activities however holy or otherwise they had been.
It was only when he had removed the stains of living, that he could approach the Holy
One in worship, as he once again rehearsed his people’s story of God’s blessing and
deliverance, and made them his own personal story before God. When I think about the
ways I so often fail to prepare myself for worship in the sanctuary – I can only pray for
God’s mercy and grace to allow me to approach the throne of grace at all; but, thanks
be to God, I too, can recall the unfailing love of God, and throw myself on God’s mercy!

---

Acknowledgements:
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation,
copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

*Revised Indexing Scheme from 'Consultation on Church Union' (COCU).

I acknowledge and give heartfelt thanks for the theological inspiration available from the writings of
Professor Walter Brueggemann; and through the resources from the internet and “The Text this Week” (Textweek).

If the Prayers and/or Meditations are used in shared worship, please provide this acknowledgement:
© 2015 Joan Stott – ‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year B. Used with permission.

jstott@netspace.net.au
www.thetimelesspsalms.net

Download/view a pdf file of this document here: pentecost[27]b_2015.pdf